Whenever you decide to buy new RX safety glasses whether you are going to buy it online or from any local retailer. You become confused to decide what kind of lenses will suit you. A lot of options included glass, polycarbonate, plastic, high-index, and trivex.
High-index VS Polycarbonate:
Many online eyewear retailers offer high-index lenses with upgrading conditions and some offer polycarbonate as come in standard lenses with frames. But due to what reason, why you should upgrade yourself from polycarbonate to high-index lenses? let’s make a comparison between these two upgraded lenses so that you can decide what you have to select.
Refractive Index:
Whenever we talk about the index of lenses, we are referring to the tendency of materials. How they bend the light that is called a refractive index. It is the ratio of the speed of light that travels through lens materials. Keep remembering that high-index Prescription safety glasses lenses are less distorted, lighter, and thinner. So if you have both lenses of the same power, the higher index lens material will always be thinner. So technically we say that the lens materials with high refractive index, the standard glass or plastic lenses are considered as high-index.
Polycarbonate Lenses:
The history of polycarbonate is old as it was used in other industries like in fighter planes, astronaut helmets, and space shuttle windshields, etc. Due to its lightweight and impact-resistant material, in 1980, it was introduced for eyewear lenses. Now, it has become the standard lens material in child, sports, and safety optical glasses.
Their refractive index is 1.59 and generally 20% thinner than regular lenses. polycarbonate tends to protect your eyes 100% from hazardous UV rays.
High-index Lenses:
High-index lenses are generally recommended for those eye wearers who have a strong prescription. They are preferred due to the lightest, thinnest, and visually appealing, and of course comfortable eyeglasses. But it doesn’t mean that you just can go with these lenses in case of strong prescription. They make your specs lenses thinner and comfortable no matter what prescription you have. Generally, they start at 1.61 to as high as 1.74. You can order online prescription eyewear with any lens type.
What is Better For You:
Technically, both materials don’t exist all the time for all prescriptions. But keep remembering, if you have a strong prescription and you want a lens that has a low refractive index. In this situation, if you choose plastic you can see well but the lens will be thicker. And thicker lenses create more distortion that causes unwanted eyestrain and bothersome as you wear it for a long time. You can visit eyeweb for a lot of options in lens materials.
Worth Saying:
No lens material can allow the passing of 100% light through it. Some light is reflected from the surface of the lens and it can reduce your clarity and create an annoying distraction. So for this, a high-index lens should be coated with anti-reflect and it will allow up to 99.5% light can pass through it. With this, they give you the best optical clarity and view out of the glasses. All brands like 3M safety glasses are offering polycarbonate lenses with AR coating.
Final Thoughts:
Ultimately at the end of the day, the selection of lens does matter on your budget. Many reputable online stores offer polycarbonate lenses without anti-reflect coating but you should prefer with AR coating.
